Tinsel hanging decoration



A. A. MOLINARO TINSEL HANGING DECORATION Filed Deo. 5, 1965 June 10, 1969 Nilmw 4 0o United States Patent O 3,449,197 TINSEL HANGING DECORATION Angelo A. Molinaro, 239 Trumbull Ave., Bridgeport, Conn. 06606 Filed Dec. 3, 1965, Ser. No. 511,370 Int. Cl. A47g 33/08 U.S. Cl. 161-12 6 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to decorations and more particularly to a tinsel hanging decoration, which permits a tree trimmer to more easily and quickly apply tinsel to a Christmas tree branch.

An object of the invention is to provide a tinsel hanging decoration which is simple in construction, easy to use, well adapted for its intended purposes and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tinsel hanging decoration with means for attaching tinsel, quickly and easily along a Christmas tree branch.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a tinsel hanging decoration with an elongated resilient body which could be stretched longitudinally along a branch,

thereby providing an expandable decorative effect when in use, yet, will be a compact device for storage and shipping when not in use.

Still another object of the invention is to provide auxiliary ornamentation to the tinsel hanging decoration which will aid its appearance and increase the usefulness thereof.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation, showing one form of the tinsel hanging decoration.

FIGURE 2 is a front elevation of a modied form of the invention.

FIGURE 3 is a front elevation of another form of the tinsel hanging decoration.

FIGURE 4 shows a fragmentary view of a modification to the tinsel hanging decoration referred to in FIG- URE 3.

Referring now more in detail to FIGURE 1 of the drawing, there is provided an elongated spring 1, formed from any suitable material, preferably steel, plastic, or rubber, and colored preferably green to blend in with a standard Christmas tree green color. Altho green is preferable, any suitable color could be used and it is not necessary that it blend in with the color of the Christmas tree. Any suitable coating that will aid its appearance could be used. The ends 2 of the elongated spring 1 extend upward and are formed into downwardly facing open loops 3, which are adapted to hook over and be supported on a Christmas tree branch, not shown. The spring 1 has tinsel 4 attached between the convolutions Patented June 10, 1969 of the spring 1. The tinsel 4 is evenly spaced longitudinally along the spring 1. In the preferred construction, the tinsel 4 is attached to the spring 1 by means of an adhesive Ibinder 5. Any suitable adhesive material could be used here.

,Refer now to FIGURE 2. In this form of the invention, there is in addition to the tinsel 4, auxiliary ornamentation 9, attached to the spring 1. The auxiliary ornamentation 9 is illustrated as two bells, attached along the spring 1. However, any type of ornamentation, such as balls, `a Santa Claus, stars, etc. could be used here. The ornamentation 9 could be one or more evenly spaced items. They could be all the same or they could be different. Thereby, having a variety of ornamentation 9 in addition to the tinsel 4 on the elongated spring 1. The ends of the spring 1, in this form of the invention, are formed into loops 6. The loops 6 are connected to hooks 7 by means of the holes 8 which are on the ends of the hooks 7. 'Ihe hooks 7 are formed to be hooked over and supported on a Christmas tree branch, not shown. The tinsel 4 is also shown to be attached to the convolutions of the spring 1 by means of an adhesive binder 5. If desired the tinsel 4 could be attached merely Iby the clamping action of closely spaced convolutions.

Refer now to FIGURE 3. In this form of the invention there is `an elongated resilient body 10 made of rubber or any suitable elastic material. It could have any suitable cross section, such as circular, square, rectangular, etc. The ends of the resilient body 10, are passed through looped holes 12, which are formed on the ends of the hooks 11. The ends of the resilient body 10 are then formed into tight loops 13 and held in this manner by means of the fasteners 14. The hooks 11 are adapted to be hooked over and supported on a Christmas tree branch. The looped holes 12 could be closed or open. The drawing illustrates a loop that is closed on itself. Attached to the elongated resilient body 10 is the tinsel 4. It is attached by means of the adhesive binder 5. If desired, see FIGURE 4, the tinsel 4, could be attached to the elongated resilient body 10, -by means of slits 16 which are made in the elongated resilient body 10. The use of the adhesive binder 5 being optional. FIGURE 4 also shows a third hook 15 attached to the elongated resilient body 10. It is placed in a hole 17 which is located approximately midway between the two hooks 11. It is understood that the third hook 15 could be attached anywhere between the end hooks 11, preferably as described midway between them. If desired additional auxiliary ornamentation could be attached to this form of the invention.

In use the tinsel hanging decoration is attached to the branch, at the end nearest the tree trunk, by means of one of the attaching hooks. The opposite hook is then used to stretch the decoration outward toward the end of the branch. The hook is then clipped at or near the outside edge of the branch. The branch will then be decorated longitudinally with tinsel which is evenly spaced along the resilient elongated body or spring. In the device with the auxiliary ornamentation, in addition to the -branch being decorated with tinsel, it will also be decorated with ornamentation. This stretching feature permits making a compact tinsel hanging decoration which requires minimum storage, or packaging space, yet when applied to a tree gives an expanded decorative feature, since the tinsel hanging `decoration could be stretched considerably in comparison to its normal state.

It is understood that any suitable number of ornaments in addition to the tinsel could be attached to all of the decoratons. It is also understood that three or more supporting hooks could be used. They could be connected by means other than as shown. It is also understood that suspended ornamentation by itself, rather than tinsel, could be evenly attached along the resilient elongated bodies.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modications and equivalents may be resorted to falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

Having thus completely and fully described the invention, what is now claimed as new is as follows:

1. A tinsel hanging decoration, for use in quickly decorating a Christmas tree with tinsel, having: an elongated resilient Ibody formed to expand longitudinally, tinsel strips draped over and attached along the said elongated resilient body, creating a falling rain effect, and an open loop hook attached at each end of the said elongated resilient body, said open loop hooks adapted to be hooked over and supported on a branch.

2. The invention as described in claim 1 in which there is at least one auxiliary ornament attached to the said resilient elongated body in addition to the said tinsel strips, said auxiliary ornament aiding the appearance and increasing the usefulness thereof.

3. The invention as described in claim 1 in which the said resilient elongated body is an elongated spring.

4. The invention as described in claim 1 in which the said resilient elongated body is a at elongated elastic body which has slits evenly spaced longitudinally along the said at elongated elastic body through which the said tinsel is hung, being attached thereto by means of an radhesive binder.

5. The invention as described in claim 1 in which the said resilient elongated body has a downwardly facing open loop attached between the two open loop hooks which are attached at each end of the said resilient elongated body, said downwardly facing open loop adapted to be hooked over and supported on a branch.

6. The invention as described in claim 3 in which the said elongated spring has auxiliary ornamentation as well as tinsel attached evenly along the said elongated spring.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 237,026 1/1881 Knauff 16l12 1,441,266 l/1923 Clune. 2,107,677 2/1938 Sexton 161--12 JACOB H. STEINBERG, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. XR. 161-17 

